Instantly calculate how long it takes to silently read any article, blog post, or book chapter. Paste your text below and get an accurate reading time estimate based on a 225 words per minute average.
Get an accurate reading time estimate in three simple steps.
Copy and paste any article, blog post, book chapter, or essay into the text area. The calculator updates your reading time instantly as you type — no button click needed.
Select Slow (150 wpm), Average (225 wpm), or Fast (300 wpm) to match your reading pace. The estimate adjusts in real time. Average adults read silently at 200–250 wpm.
Use the reading time to set reader expectations in your blog post header, estimate podcast script length, or plan how long a presentation will take to deliver.
Reading time is calculated by dividing your total word count by the selected words-per-minute (WPM) speed. The average adult reads silently at approximately 225 words per minute, though this varies between 150 wpm (slow, careful reading) and 300+ wpm (fast skim reading). Academic research consistently places the average at around 200–250 wpm.
The speaking time estimate uses a separate, lower WPM rate (around 130–150 wpm) to reflect how fast humans comfortably speak aloud — useful for podcasters, presenters, and video scriptwriters estimating their recording length before they hit record.
Reading time is calculated by dividing your total word count by the average reading speed. The average adult reads at about 238 words per minute (WPM), though our tool lets you adjust this for slow or fast readers.
For SEO and user engagement, a 3 to 7-minute reading time (roughly 1,000 to 1,600 words) is generally considered ideal, as it provides enough depth without losing the reader's attention.
People read silently much faster than they speak aloud. The average reading speed is around 238 WPM, while the average speaking or presentation speed is much slower, typically around 130 to 150 WPM.